Confronted with a rapidly aging population, a declining birthrate, and socioeconomic shifts that have made younger people less likely to marry or have children, China’s State Council this week unveiled a new slate of policies that it hopes will promote childbirth and foster a more “reproduction-friendly society.” The response among Chinese netizens has thus far been somewhat muted and skeptical, with one Weibo user suggesting: “Before working to create a society amenable to reproduction, it might be more of a priority to create a society amenable to survival.” Online commenters have pointed to the many factors deterring people from having more children: economic uncertainty, high youth unemployment rates, the rising costs of raising and educating children, family-unfriendly corporate policies, and workplace discrimination against women, among others.
There are reports of increased pressure on local authorities to increase births within their jurisdictions, and some young Chinese women have reported receiving intrusive phone calls from local cadres inquiring whether they are currently pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Last month, when the China Population and Development Research Center (CPDRC) announced it would be conducting a nationwide survey of 30,000 individuals to find out why so many people are reluctant to have children, many observers and experts expressed dismay that such a survey would even be necessary. “Isn’t the answer obvious?” challenged one social media user. “Do you really not understand why people don’t want to have kids?”
A recent WeChat article by current-affairs blogger Xiang Dongliang notes that despite the government’s pro-natalist push, China’s family planning law still stands, including the restriction prohibiting couples from having more than three children. Xiang dissects this discrepancy and other examples of cognitive dissonance or hypocrisy in family-planning propaganda:
People are well aware of whether a society is truly friendly to women and children, or whether it treats women as reproductive resources and children as demographic dividends.
There is no need to read through government policy statements or statistical reports to discover whether women of childbearing age still face employment discrimination, or whether children can walk to and from school in safety. These things we can glean quite clearly from our daily lives.
As my readers know, anyone with a modicum of common sense can discern whether those urging you to have children are sincere in their concern for you, or whether they are just spouting nonsense that goes against their own conscience. [Chinese]
At South China Morning Post, Mandy Zuo reported on the State Council’s effort to enact coordinated pro-natalist policies at a national level, supplementing the scattershot local policies that have become increasingly common over the past few years:
While different levels of cash incentives were introduced at the local level to stimulate births in the past few years, the central government said it is drafting a detailed national-level plan, with some analysts forecasting an expenditure of up to 500 billion yuan (US$70 billion) per year.
Aiming to create an atmosphere where everyone “respects and supports childbirth” as the nation rapidly ages, the directive from China’s cabinet also vowed to expand income tax deductions for parents and include assisted reproductive services into the national insurance scheme.
[…] As part of a broader stimulus package to revive the economy, Beijing could initiate a programme to encourage childbirth with a budget of around 250 billion yuan to 500 billion yuan per year, economists from Nomura said on Monday.
The directive is an attempt to integrate various support measures from local governments and establish a unified and nationwide system for supporting families, said Yuan Xin, a professor of demographics at the School of Economics at Nankai University.
[…A] user on microblogging platform Weibo commented that the measures were like if “you’re buying a Ferrari, and the government is giving you a coupon worth 100 yuan”. [Source]
It is important to note that many segments of China’s population—notably, unmarried women, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, and single parents—will be shut out from most of these programs and incentives. Same-sex marriage remains illegal in China, surrogacy is a legal gray area, and single women and queer couples are routinely denied access to assisted reproductive technologies, such as IVF or freezing one’s eggs. Caixin Global’s Xu Wen and Denise Jia described some of the specifics of the State Council’s plan, which includes 13 key support areas, including fertility, child-rearing, education, housing, and employment:
The government plans to introduce a national maternity subsidy system. More than 30 regions already offer local subsidies. Once the national subsidy is implemented, existing local lump-sum payments for second and third children will remain, but monthly benefits will be discontinued, a local health official told Caixin.
[…] Healthcare reforms are also central to the plan. The new measures will expand access to reproductive health services, including labor pain relief and assisted reproductive technologies, which will be covered by medical insurance. Prenatal education will be promoted to reduce unplanned pregnancies and support care for early pregnancies and abortions.
[…] The government intends to optimize the distribution of educational resources, to align with shifting population patterns. Policies such as the “double reduction” initiative, which aims to reduce the burden of excessive homework for pupils and reduce the financial anxiety of parents facing extra educational costs, will be reinforced. Schools will also be encouraged to offer more after-school services and provide coeducational places to help families with more than one child.
In the housing sector, the policy proposes incentives for families with a number of children. This includes raising the housing provident fund loan limits and expanding access to low-income housing. Families with young children will receive priority in housing programs, and the government aims to develop the rental market to ensure tenants enjoy equal public services. [Source]
The push for more children could make its way into Chinese entertainment and culture, as well. In addition to the usual public service advertisements and propaganda slogans, the State Council document recommends working references to “marriage and childbearing culture” into television shows, films, stage plays, and other literary and artistic works.
